‘Global South awakening’: Russian FM Lavrov pushes India’s UNSC seat, blasts NATO, Gaza war

Source: Moneycontrol | Original Published At: 2025-09-27 17:10:05 UTC

Key Points

• Russia advocates for India and Brazil to receive permanent UNSC seats
• Calls for UNSC reform to reflect modern geopolitical realities
• Condemns Israel's Gaza bombardment and Hamas attacks
• Criticizes NATO's military expansion and Western policies
• Promotes Global South solidarity and anti-colonial initiatives

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Saturday used his address at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) to make a strong pitch for India and Brazil to be given permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

“The issue of Security Council reform is particularly important. Russia calls for its democratisation exclusively through the expansion of representation from Asia, Africa and Latin America. We support the application of Brazil and India for permanent seats,” Lavrov said.

Lavrov argued that the global balance of power had changed drastically in the 80 years since the UN was founded, and that the current system fails to reflect new realities. “The global majority is loudly asserting its rights. The SCO and BRICS play a special role as mechanisms for coordinating the interests of the Global South and East,” he added.

On Palestine and Gaza: “No justification for collective punishment”

Turning to the Middle East, Lavrov condemned both Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israeli civilians and Israel’s ongoing bombardment of Gaza.

“There is no justification for the brutal killings of civilians or terrorist attacks. But there is also no justification for the collective punishment of Palestinians in Gaza, where children are dying from bombing and starvation,” he said.

Lavrov accused some Western governments of delaying recognition of Palestine in the hope that “by the time the General Assembly convened, there would be nothing and no one left to recognise.”

He warned against plans to annex the West Bank, saying: “We are dealing with an attempted coup to forget the UN decision recognizing Palestine.”

NATO, Ukraine, and the West

On Ukraine, Lavrov repeated Moscow’s stance that it remains open to negotiations. “Russia has been and remains open to negotiations to eliminate the root causes of the conflict from the very beginning. We have repeatedly proposed to agree on legally binding security guarantees,” he said.

But he accused Kyiv and its allies of rejecting dialogue: “So far, neither Kiev nor its Western allies have any desire to negotiate honestly.”

He also lashed out at NATO, claiming the alliance threatens not only Russia and China but is trying to “militarily encircle all of Eurasia.”

“Any aggression against Russia will be met with a decisive response. NATO and the EU should have no doubts about this,” Lavrov warned.

On Iran, Kosovo and language rights

Lavrov declared that Russia considers all UN sanctions against Iran, and attempts to restore them ‘illegal.’ He also criticized the unilateral recognition of Kosovo’s independence, calling it a sabotage of UN resolutions.

He accused Ukraine of being the only country in the world that has legally banned half its population from speaking its native language.

Global South ‘awakening’ and anti-colonial call

Lavrov framed his remarks within a wider narrative of a ‘Global South awakening,’ stressing that countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America were demanding fairer representation.

“The process of decolonization and other major upheavals have changed the political map of the planet,” he said. To underline this, he proposed declaring December 14 as the Day of Struggle Against Colonialism.

At the same time, he insisted Russia’s push for UNSC reform was not revolutionary but corrective: “Russia advocates for reforming the UN Security Council but does not campaign for a revolution against anyone.”